Spray it at work and the company is doomed, spray it on the desk of a colleague and they’ll be transferred…this is a spray that’s not to be messed with.

In a country where cars are blessed by Shinto priests and temples offer funeral services for everything from love dolls to broken record player needles, people in Japan don’t just believe in good and bad energies, they see them as everyday realities.

So when a Japanese company called Oisesan created the “Okiyome Shio Spray” (“Salt Purification Spray“), it sold like hotcakes. Salt has long been used for purification purposes in Japan — sumo wrestlers even spray it over the ring before a bout to cleanse the area — and this new product adds a fragrance to the mix so it can be used as a purifying room spray.

▼ Oisesan’s Salt Purification Spray

While it was originally created for purification purposes, it became dubbed the “death spray”, after customers left some interesting reviews. One claimed that when they used the spray at their toxic workplace the company went bankrupt, and another said an annoying colleague was transferred when they sprayed it on their desk.

As word of its powers spread and its popularity grew, more varieties were introduced to the range, including sprays for matchmaking. Now they’ve added a new product to the lineup, and this one looks to be the most sinister of them all, with nothing but a black silhouette of a woman in kimono.

▼ The fact that there’s no name printed on it makes it even more mysterious.

The actual name of this product is “Enkiri Spray”, or “Severance Spray“, and it’s designed to do what it suggests — sever ties with things or people you no longer want in your life.

▼ If the original spray was dubbed “Death Spray”, does this mean the new version is more like a “Killing Spray”?

Despite sounding ominous, “enkiri” isn’t always a bad thing in Japan. While it can refer to cutting people out of your life, it can also mean dispelling disease and cutting out bad habits, and you can even visit temples offering enkiri services that help people sever ties. Now you no longer have to visit those temples to have your wish granted, as this spray will help do that for you.

The original Salt Purification Spray has developed such a cult following that the company hasn’t needed to advertise the new Severance Spray, instead quietly selling it through its own online store and other select online shops. While both contain the same powerful ingredient — salt — the only difference is in the scent, as different essential oils are used.

The Salt Purification Spray contains frankincense, lemon, rosemary and patchouli, while the Severance Spray contains hakka (Japanese peppermint), sage, eucalyptus, lemongrass, lemon, and kuromoji (spicebush).

Frankincense and patchouli have long been used as purifying elements in religious ceremonies, from the times of ancient Egypt, when they were used to purify temples, through to modern-day Christian services. These ingredients help to amp up the purification powers of the original spray while providing a spicy scent.

The new spray has a strong citrus scent that’s both refreshing and calming, and the use of sage, a herb used by Native Americans to exorcise impurities, acts as a powerful purifier, along with kuromoji providing sedative and anti-anxiety effects.

Our reporter Mariko Ohanabatake owns both sprays, but rather than use them for any ill will, she likes to spray them in the genkan entrance area of her home to dispel any bad energies she may have unwittingly picked up during her day.

According to Mariko, the scent of the Severance Spray tends to linger for a longer time than the original, perhaps due to the amount of herbs it contains. Or perhaps its lingering scent means it’s more powerful?

Either way, she’s yet to see them influence her life in any major manner, but then again, she hasn’t had anything bad happen to her since she bought the sprays so perhaps they really are working their secret magic in invisible ways. If you’d like to try them too you can pick them up online or at stores like Loft and Tokyu Hands for 1,320 yen (US$8.90) each.

Related: Oisesan online store
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